


Friends Forever

by snidgetsong



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Inter-House Friendships, Marauders' Era, Sorting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4223712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snidgetsong/pseuds/snidgetsong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first night at Hogwarts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends Forever

**Author's Note:**

> written for hh_sugarquill's Saturday Special: "There's nothing you could ever say or do that would make you less than my best friend."

She worried her bottom lip as she watched him from across the Great Hall. Her pudding should have tasted delicious, but she was too preoccupied with trying to seem friendly to her new housemates while keeping an eye on Severus to really taste it. He was so afraid, always so afraid. 

No matter how many times she reassured him that nothing would change, he would inevitably fall back into a cold, pessimistic state of mind where he insisted that she'd forget about him or she wouldn't want to be his friend when she had better options. Poor Severus, she would have to find him first thing tomorrow morning and remind him that he was her best friend forever and always.

A group of four boys sitting further down the table were kicking up a rumpus that drew her attention back to the present. She sniffed disapprovingly. Those boys were going to get them all into trouble and lose points before Gryffindor had a chance to earn any! You'd think that first years would be unnerved by the new environment and all this fantastic magic, or maybe they were wizard born children who'd been at Hogwarts a thousand times already. 

Lily grudgingly admitted that she felt a little out of sorts. She'd never been away from home before tonight, and this whole magic thing was very overwhelming. Sure Severus had explained about magic and Hogwarts before the letter came, but that didn't make the shock of it being real… of being a _witch_ less powerful. She was a witch! And she was going to learn magic with Severus just like he'd promised at the play park.

This was without question the most fantastic thing that had ever—that could ever—happen to her. She couldn't hide the giant grin that spread all over her face. They were going to learn magic and be the best witch and wizard _ever_ and somehow things would work out with Petunia. 

She sighed and played with her dessert. Her other problem was that Petunia still wasn't speaking to her, and Lily didn't know how to make it better between them. She'd send her a letter tomorrow, a letter just for her, separate from the one for Mum and Dad, and she'd see if Severus wanted to send a letter home, too. 

Lily looked back over at the Slytherin table and noticed that Severus wasn't talking to his new housemates. He had so much trouble opening up and showing people just how sweet he could be. If only he wasn't so afraid of rejection or judgment or whatever it was that made him bottle up all his feelings and pretend he didn't have them. 

Maybe things would be better at Hogwarts. If Severus was with people who had personalities like his then maybe they'd seem standoffish but really be incredibly sweet as well. Lily didn't know how she'd ended up in Gryffindor. These people seemed nice enough but they were really _loud_. 

She and Severus had agreed that if they both tried then they could probably end up in Ravenclaw together. She'd seen his face when the hat yelled, "Gryffindor!" She hadn't meant to go anywhere but Ravenclaw, but when she'd told that creepy talking hat exactly that, it had started mumbling about daring boldness and something about so much spirited sass. 

Then it sorted her where Severus said he could never follow her. Being in different houses didn't have to mean anything. They could make it work because they both wanted to be friends. Just then the Headmaster stood and gave them a list of rules to follow, those four boys snickered too loudly and they were dismissed to their dormitories. Lily searched the Great Hall for Severus but he had already exited out the other side hidden amongst a sea of green. 

That night Lily slept fitfully. She kept dreaming that Severus wouldn't forgive her for ruining their plan and that her letter from Petunia was returned unopened with angry, red lettering on the back that said, 'I have no sister.' By the time dawn arrived, Lily was already showered, and her stomach was filled with butterflies so she didn't even want to eat breakfast.

Her new friend Marlene assured her that no one slept well and that they were all nervous, but even Marlene admitted that she'd be scared of being separated from her friend, too. All Lily could think about was getting to Severus and making him understand what happened. 

As soon as she spotted him entering the Great Hall, she rushed over and pulled him into an empty corridor. "Oh, Severus, I'm so sorry. I tried! I told that stupid hat we were going to go to Ravenclaw and be the smartest but it didn't listen!'

"Shh. I know, Lily. It told me as much when it said, 'So you're the schemer. Plots and plans with big ambitions. I know just where to put you.' You saw where I went. Merlin, Lily, it's terrible there."

"Don't say that. You just have to get to know them. I'm sure they can't be that bad. You're there and you're wonderful. I bet they'll turn out to be wonderful, too."

Severus's face flushed and she remembered how he didn't like praise, how it embarrassed him. "I don't think so. They're all pure-bloods and they don't like people like us who've mixed with Muggles."

"What? Do they think they're better or something?"

"Or something. Listen, Lily, we're going to stay friends, right? Those Gryffindors will let you?"

Lily put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Now listen here, Severus Snape, no one is going to tell me who I can have as my friend. There's nothing anyone could say or do to stop me from being your best friend. There's nothing you could ever say or do that would make you less than my best friend."

He flushed again, poor thing. Maybe one day he'd get used to the way she talked. "I love you, Lily."

She grabbed his hands so grateful that she was forgiven and that things were okay between them then pulled him into one of her tight hugs that he so hated and whispered, "I love you, too, Severus. Friends forever?"

He smiled that sweet smile that only she got to see. "Friends forever."


End file.
